Bulgarians Have Mixed Feelings for the EU - Poll

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | February 11, 2014, Tuesday // 17:52
Bulgaria: Bulgarians Have Mixed Feelings for the EU - Poll Photo by BGNES

Seven years into its EU membership, Bulgarians have mixed feelings for the Union, but remain relatively optimistic.

In a recent public opinion poll by Alpha Research, 46% of Bulgarians have a positive attitude, while 17% a negative one towards the EU. A total of 1050 Bulgarian adults were surveyed.

According to the survey, 32% say that the EU membership brought considerable benefits to the country, but 51% say that nothing much has changed. Those who don't see any benefits are 17%.

In personal aspect, however, the majority of Bulgarians (73%) say the EU membership hasn't changed their lives much.

Those who see the benefits and have an overall positive attitude towards the union are mostly residents of the capital Sofia. Younger and higher educated citizens have a better outlook on the EU.

Euro-skepticism is prevailing among the countryside residents, those with lower education, the unemployed and the older people.

Travelling and employment opportunities are the most cited benefits – 90% and 81% respectively.

The poll shows that there are several areas in which people are feeling let down in their expectations. Among them are the judiciary system, corruption, agriculture, environment protection, improved competitiveness of the Bulgarian companies, social policies and consumer protection.

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Tags: EU, European Union, Alpha Research, survey, sofia

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